Russian investigators are to analyse the flight recorders from the Bek Air Fokker 100 which crashed during take-off from Almaty on 27 December. The recorders have been retrieved from the wreckage, says Kazakhstan’s ministry of industry, and they will be transferred to the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee for analysis in Moscow. Kazakh prime minister Askar Mamin, who is chairing the investigation commission, says the inquiry aims to present preliminary findings by 10 January. The aircraft lost altitude during take-off at 07:21, the prime minister’s office states, as it commenced the Z92100 service to Nur-Sultan. Kazakhstan’s air navigation service has indicated that a problem occurred at 07:22, when radar contact was lost, and the alarm was raised. Emergency services located the aircraft 1.8km from the runway on the outskirts of the Guldala settlement, the office adds. Ninety-eight occupants were on board, including five crew members, and the accident has resulted in 12 fatalities. Another 53 people have been hospitalised, with 17 in critical condition. Kazakh carriers Air Astana, Qazaq Air and SCAT have stepped in to assist passengers affected by cancellations and schedule disruption after Bek Air was grounded in the aftermath of the crash.

Source: Cirium

The counselor and senior advisor to Boeing's board of directors, J. Michael Luttig, has retired, effective 31 December. Luttig has been managing for the board legal matters associated with the fatal crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, both of which operated Boeing 737 Max aircraft. Luttig was Boeing's general counsel from 2006 through May 2019, when he began advising the board of directors. He joined Boeing after serving 15 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. "Judge Luttig is one of the finest legal minds in the nation and he has expertly and tirelessly guided our company as general counsel, counselor and senior advisor," interim Boeing president and chief executive Greg Smith states. Smith, who had been serving as Boeing's chief financial officer, assumed interim chief executive duties on 23 December upon the resignation of Dennis Muilenburg. Board chair David Calhoun will take Smith's place as chief executive 13 January 2020.

Source: Cirium

(CNN)At least nine people have died after a plane carrying 95 passengers and five crew members crashed shortly after takeoff near the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan on Friday morning. The plane "lost altitude after takeoff and broke through a concrete fence," before colliding with a two-story building at approximately 7:22 a.m., local time, according to Almaty aviation authorities. Flight Z2100, operated by Kazakhstan-based Bek Air, was scheduled to fly from Almaty, the country's largest city, to the capital Nur-Sultan. Kazakh state media, citing the Internal Affairs Ministry, said at least nine people had been killed in the crash, and nine people, including six children, had been injured. Data provided by Flightradar24 suggests the flight crashed 19 seconds after takeoff, approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the airport. Images of the crash site show the damaged plane broken into several parts in a snow covered field, with much of the fuselage still relatively intact. Airport authorities said emergency responders were now working to evacuate passengers and crew members from the wreckage. There were no reports of a fire following the crash.
Flightradar24 reports that the aircraft was a Fokker 100, a twin-turbofan medium sized jet.
The cause and circumstances of the crash would be placed under investigation, airport authorities said.
In a statement published online, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed condolences to the families of the victims and warned that those responsible for the crash would face "severe punishment in accordance with the law."

Source: CNN